Smithsonian Magazine takes you on a journey through history, science, world culture and technology with breathtaking images from around the world.
Smithsonian Magazine
FROM THE EDITORS
Block Party • New York-born word game rivets our attention a century later
Spellbound • PRESENTING THE FIRST CROSSWORD PUZZLE EVER PUBLISHED IN SMITHSONIAN. IT’LL BE OUR LAST—UNLESS READERS CLAMOR FOR MORE
BEFORE AUDUBON • An 18th-century album of India’s flora and fauna showcases the startling work of an overlooked master
When Two Wheels Are The Rage • Bicycles revolutionized personal transport—and led to surprising societal change. Will the electric scooter invasion do the same?
Hulking Airships Rise Again, Slowly • A WORLD IN A HURRY TURNS TO A LUMBERING EARLY 20TH-CENTURY TECHNOLOGY FOR A LESSON IN EFFICIENCY
IN THE AMERICAN GRAIN • Searching for the essence of the prickly, brilliant, deeply influential Frank Lloyd Wright
Royal Family Feud • A feathered cape worn by a Hawaiian chief two centuries ago tells a story of human conflict and ecological tragedy
On Hold • HOW A TELEPHONE MONOPOLY AND A FEAR OF WIRETAPPING HUNG UP THE ANSWERING MACHINE FOR DECADES
THE LOST CITY OF MYANMAR • THE ANCIENT KINGDOM OF MRAUK U WELCOMED BUDDHISTS AND MUSLIMS. NOW EFFORTS TO UNCOVER ITS MYSTERIES ARE THREATENED BY ETHNIC HOSTILITIES
2019 SIMTHSONIAN AMERICAN ingenuity AWARDS • OUR 8TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE CREATIVE BREAKTHROUGHS SHAPING THE WORLD
THE FUNNY THING ABOUT THE LAW • HER SURPRISING DRAMA ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION ENCOURAGES A WIDER VIEW OF AMERICAN JUSTICE
REALITY GETS AN UPGRADE • AN ACE INVENTOR AIMS TO WEAVE HOLOGRAMS INTO THE FABRIC OF OUR EVERYDAY LIVES
THE BUCKAROO’S NEW BEAT • A SELF-TAUGHT 20-YEAR-OLD MUSICIAN GALLOPS TO GLOBAL FAME WITH A SONG THAT DEFIES CATEGORIES
A GLIMPSE OF IMPOSSIBLE • NEVER BEFORE HAD SCIENTISTS SEEN THE PHENOMENON UNTIL THEY RALLIED COLLEAGUES AROUND THE WORLD TO VIEW A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY
THE LUMINOUS TRUTH • THE ARTIST WHO FAMOUSLY PAINTED A FIRST LADY CREATES REVELATORY PORTRAITS OF ORDINARY PEOPLE
FINDING A WAY WITH DNA • MEDICAL RESEARCHERS DEVELOP A GENE THERAPY THAT IS SAVING YOUNG PEOPLE AFFLICTED BY A RARE BUT DEADLY DISEASE
A GENEROUS HELPING OF HUMANITY • BRAVING STORMS, FLOODS AND EARTHQUAKES, THE RENOWNED CHEF IS FORGING A NEW WAY TO FEED THE NEEDY
Blessed Is the Hermit • AN ITALIAN MONK WHO LIVED IN A NEW MEXICO CAVE INSPIRES A SINGULAR ACT OF FAITH
ask smithsonian • YOU’VE GOT QUESTIONS. WE’VE GOT EXPERTS